Ray Kurzweil: Your Cloud-Connected Brain Will Be a Creative Supercomputer

Big Think is once again proud to partner with fellow big thinkers Singularity University to share the news about their 2015 Exponential Finance conference, happening June 2nd and 3rd in New York City. The conference will feature Big Think Experts such as Ray Kurzweil, Chance Barnett, and Brad Templeton.

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If logical thinking is the pinnacle of human intelligence, computers have already bested us, and by a large margin. But human intelligence is richer than logic: It includes "being funny, being sexy, expressing a loving sentiment — maybe in a poem or in a musical piece."

We know this, says Ray Kurzweil, because of the brain's structure. Our neocortex, for example, is a "metaphor machine" that combines areas of knowledge to create entirely new areas — the way Isaac Newton created calculus, for example. That kind of critical thinking, which computers cannot do at present, depends on what Kurzweil calls hierarchies of intelligence in the brain. These hierarchies, he argues, enabled the evolution of language, technology, art, and science.

Kurzweil explains that just as our mobiles devices are gateways to the cloud, where we harness the power of a million computers for a tenth of a second, technology is being developed that will give us access to a wider field of consciousness. We'll be able to command the aggregate thinking powers of millions of humans at once — that's exponential thinking that will power a bold, new world of innovation, design, and an abundance of wealth.

Harnessing the power of human creativity is what leads today's most vital businesses. And Singularity University’s 2015 Exponential Finance conference, happening June 2nd and 3rd in New York City, brings together some of the top future-focused entrepreneurs in every field — from finance, to law, to computing, to medicine — to share their discoveries and insights into what’s coming next, and how to turn it to your advantage.

Tickets are going fast. Use the code BIGTHINK500 to lock in your seats now, at a $500 discount.